Which pear-shaped unfretted lute, derived from the Arabic oud and brought to the Malay world by Middle Eastern traders, is the melodic centrepiece of ghazal singing and zapin dance music?

• A Sape
• B Rebab
• C Gambus ✓
• D Seruling

The gambus arrived with the spread of Islam and became integral to the syncretic musical traditions of Johor; its deep, resonant plucked tone anchors the vocal improvisations of Malay ghazal.